The life and times of a motoring and motor rallying journalist in Scotland

Sunday, 15 November 2015

Rally - Meeke second

As gale force winds and
heavy rain battered the final four stages of Wales Rally GB, Kris Meeke and
Mads Østberg managed to keep out of trouble and make it to the end of the
rally. Ott Tänak’s retirement on SS16 promoted Mads Østberg to seventh place,
whilst Kris Meeke racked up his seventh podium in the World Championship as he
finished as runner-up.

Very consistent
throughout the event, Stéphane Lefebvre continued to set top 10 times to end
the rally in eighth overall – the best result of his career to date – in the DS
3 WRC. And that of course will pose a threat to the established lead driver
line-up for 2016!

At the finish, Kris said: “I felt comfortable
all weekend in the DS 3 WRC and our performances reflected that. It was a very
difficult rally, but I really enjoyed it. Finishing as runner-up here in Wales
was a great way to round off the season and secure second place in the
manufacturers’ championship.”

As for the other top
Brit, Elfyn Evans finished 6th in the M-Sport Fiesta: "Overall
I think we have performed quite strongly this weekend. Without the puncture it
would have been a really comfortable fourth place but we all know that rallying
is a game of ifs and buts. The conditions made for a particularly difficult
rally but that is what makes this event so special and I was pretty pleased
with our performance over the first couple of days. We worked really hard to
improve our gravel performance ahead of this one and we were there or there
abouts and best of the rest after the leading pack.”

"I also have to
say a huge thanks to all of the spectators and marshals who braved the elements
this weekend. The support that we received was incredible so a big thanks to
them. Everyone keeps asking me if I have done enough to be here next year and I
would like to think that I have. At the start of the season we were going
really well and were as high as fourth in the championship at one point.”

"Unfortunately
when we got the new car I just didn't quite get to grips with her. It's taken
until now for me to feel comfortable on gravel but I feel as though we have
made a big step forward and want to continue that progression into next year. I
think that our potential is there. We have learnt a lot over the last 12 months
and it would be a shame not to put all of that to good use next season."

In conclusion, DS Racing Team Principal, Yves Matton added: “Now is not really the time for celebrating,
given the circumstances. Obviously, our thoughts are with the victims of the
Paris attacks. The sporting result is secondary, but it was nonetheless
important to finish off the job here. Thank you and well done to the team for
their hard work throughout the year. I’m really proud of them. In addition to
successfully defending both WTCC titles, we have achieved all our targets in
rallying with second place in the Manufacturers’ World Championship, a WRC
rally win and the WRC 3 title, which shows that we are still leading the way in
promoting talented young drivers. I would also like to thank Mads Østberg,
Jonas Andersson, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle for their commitment throughout the
season.”